Old One
"The Old Ones were demons pure. They warred as we would breathe—endlessly. The greater ones were interred, for death was not always their end." ―Drogyn[src] The Old Ones were extremely powerful pure-breed demons that dominated Earth eons before humans appeared, during the Primordium Age. They are deceivers; their goal is to sow chaos, confusion and animosity by playing us off of one another in a choreographed play of black against white dementia. They are the source of all unnatural urges. The cause behind the madness that so often plagues humanity and the secret desire for death and destruction that lurks at the core of the human spirit. You can deflect the hand of the old ones by the havoc that they reap. When brother is turned against brother and well-intentioned souls are motivated to acts of mindless self-destruction. The old ones are clever and perverse implacable in their antipathy to life and incomprehensible in their very essence of all madness. Their greatest achievement of all has been to convince the guiless that they alone can offer the peace and fulfillment that all human beings crave by rendering an end to suffering and want. But they are liars, and the only peace which they offer is oblivion. The only fulfillment to want is death through physical discorporation. Overview The old ones are alien to our reality. They find the very concept of our existence foreign to their very nature. Throughout time and in all of eternity they have sought the destruction of the material universe using pawns and dupes to work their evil will. They exist outside of normal time and space and do not conform to the rules that govern our understanding of kinesthetics. They loathe life as we understand it and are the source of true Nihilism. This is due to the fact that their very being is incongruent with our realm. And as such they cannot attack us directly. But by acting through intermediaries they can hasten the process of entropy with the aim of bringing about the total collapse of material existence. Often they pose as seemingly benevolent divine beings seeking to bring about earthly paradise through universal salvation. The old ones prey upon human weakness. Seeking souls that are in spiritual torment and exploiting their need for redemption and atonement. They are that secret tiny voice inside us that whispers to us of thoughts of death and destruction, of the end of pain and the suffering of mortal existence. Those whom they deceive into becoming their minions are filled with the false. Unholy joy of the raptured, convinced that they alone have received communion. Minions tend to believe that they are the righteous. History Primordium Age "This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their... their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. All that remains of the Old Ones are vestiges, certain magics, certain creatures..." The Old Ones were brought forth from another, more horrific, dimension during the creation of Earth through the Seed of Wonder. They shared the Earth with fellow higher beings which would come to be known as The Powers That Be. The rise of the Old Ones led the Powers to flee this world, while the demons became rulers of vast territories, commanded enormous armies that worshiped them as gods and constantly made war against each other, turning the Earth into their hell. This ancient epoch was known as the Primordium Age, and it is likely that the Primordial Sanskritlanguage was from this time. Banishment "There were demons, monsters beyond imagination, most of them pure evil. They ruled this dimension as they did so many others. ... Eventually, as mortal animals evolved, under the protection of certain mages and loranites-- ... The demons, most of them, found more hospitable dimen... places, and left the Earth to the mortals. For the most part. Some remained, hidden away. Some bred within the human community, their power weakened throughout generations. Some assimilated. And some... infected." ―Urkonn[src] The Old Ones eventually lost their claim over Earth. Some were killed in their own wars, while others either fled or were banished to other dimensions. It was believed that the rise of humankind was responsible for the demise of the Old Ones. Those who were killed were placed in sarcophagi which were hidden at the Deeper Well, a hole in the world running between England (in the Cotswolds) and New Zealand. The remains of the Old Ones were supposed to be kept there in order to prevent their resurrection, as not only their corpses but also their essences were trapped. According to the Guardians, the last Old One to walk the Earth was killed with the Scythe, at the Hellmouth that would come to be known as Sunnydale. Other records claimed that the last pure demon to leave Earth infected a human with its blood, creating the first vampire; however, Illyriaimplied that vampires already existed during the Primordium Age, lending doubt to this report. Modern Day "All the demons that walk the Earth are tainted, are human hybrids like vampires. The Ascension means that a human becomes pure demon. They're different." ―Anya[src] The demons that remained on Earth were forced to remain hidden and breed within mortal animals, creating weaker offspring as time when on. However, the legacy of the Old Ones remained not only in the form of the hundreds of demon species, but also in the form of cults that worshiped them, awaiting their return to bring about the destruction of mankind. These included the Order of Aurelius, led by the vampire Master, who tried to open the Sunnydale Hellmouth on several occasions to bring the Old Ones back to Earth. Mortal beings could even take on the physical form of an Old One through a complicated ritual known as the Ascension. They could also be reborn in mortal bodies, killing the hosts in the process; Illyria was resurrected in a human body in 2004. "The forces of darkness are always around us. Just beyond the edges of our vision, waiting for an opening... an opportunity to insinuate themselves into this world. Those who stand against the dark must band together, trust one another, and share what few simple weapons we have. The alternative... the disaster that would result if what lurks beyond should ever return-- well, it's simply... unimaginable." ―Rupert Giles[src] Biology and Powers Each Old One had a different shape and powers. What they all shared though was their enormous size. They were also vastly more powerful than the hybrid demon races that still walk the Earth. Category:Terminology